By Jordan Fletcher
Staff Writer
The boys’ basketball team, in the hunt for an MSL title all year, had to win against Hersey on Feb. 11 to keep that dream alive. The Knights won narrowly, 77-65, allowing the 300 students who attended the Disco Inferno dance immediately afterwards to celebrate.
“After a basketball game, people get pumped up and feel a sense of informality,” said Brenna Milligan, head of freshman class board. “I myself feel so relaxed at the after-game dances.”
According to freshman class board adviser Erik Hammerstrom, more than 95 percent of those students would wear disco attire to the dance and further raise money for the charity of the dance. The dance totals will go to the American Cancer Association, Relay for Life and savings toward future events for the freshman class board, which organized the event.
The dance went on immediately after the game, which lasted from 9:30 to 11 p.m. in Gyms 1 and 2. This positive, drug-free activity was funded by parking lot funds which were invested back into the student events like the disco inferno for charity.
Tickets cost $2 at lunch and $3 at the door, and sales raised a total of $822. The freshman class board donated over $600 to the American Cancer Association and kept about $150 for future events.
The role of Hammerstrom is quite active. It is up to Hammerstrom to schedule the dance a year in advance with the Associate Principal for Student Activities, Greg Minter, who has granted the dance to the freshman class board for the past two years.
It is up to the freshman class board to spread the word about the dance. The board then advertised the dance using Facebook, posters and word of mouth. The ideas added by the freshman class board members were successful in that they topped the past two years in profits.
Hammerstrom said the dance, in addition to being successful, is a great different kind of dance to help raise money and excite students between homecoming and winterball.
“We’re not looking to take anything away from the other dances that go on throughout the year,” Hammerstrom said. “We just want to have a fun with an informal dance for a great cause.”